Better late than never. We never finished up our posts for the Africa trip because we had to keep it under wraps for a while in order to deliver a surprise.
After departing Lamu by boat in another bout of pouring rain, we had another couple long bus rides and then a day and a half to wrap up things in Nairobi. Including a cool trip to a local baby elephant and rhino sanctuary, very well run by an organization taking in orphaned animals and returning them to the wild.
We touched down in Seattle, had one day to repack our bags, and then flew back the same direction to Vermont to join our friends Marion and Ethan at their wedding. After a beautiful, fun and personal wedding, we spent a few nights camping around Vermont with them and cooking hobo meals in the fire. And now, we're briefly back in the Seattle area, trying to see family and friends and whip ourselves back into shape for cardio and climbing.
From southwestern Uganda we decided to make our way to the eastern African coast, to visit the island of Lamu. Getting to Lamu involved 4 long days in the bus from one stop to another. One particularly fun busride, overnight from Nairobi to Mombasa, featured a loud beep that sounded every second or two. It sounded like the alarm when a large truck goes in reverse. But it never stopped. We finally asked about it i15 minutes into the bus ride, and the guy told us to just forgive and forget about it. I'll tell you, by the time we rolled into Mombasa 8 hours later at 6am, we definately had not forgiven or forgotten.
Lamu is an carless island just a few miles from the mainland, shaped from 13 centuries of trading with Asia, Persia and countries up and down the African coast. It is predominately Swahili and Muslim, with palm trees and mangroves and sand dunes. The town of Lamu is ancient, with tight little alleyways winding a maze through buildings constructed of coral bricks and fine white cement and boasting intricately doorways.
We wanted to see a little of the coastal culture and soak up a little more sun before we departing for the States. We also headed there trying to find a woodcarver that a friend had studied under 9 years before, in order to bring her something back for her upcoming wedding. We spent about 6 days there, and succeeded on all accounts.
We spent a couple days out in the traditional dhow sailing vessels, all wooden construction and that keep sailing to the basics. These trips involved sailing, some fishing with line wrapped around small pieces of wood, beachside bbqs of the fish we had caught, and swimming. Kelly proudly caught the first fish out of the mzungus, to Michiel's chagrin.
The bulk of our time, however, we spent winding our way through the alleyways of Lamu town, and searching for this woodcarver. With the help of a local boy whose help we enlisted, who spoke Kiswahili and knew his way around town, we did manage to find him on day #3 of our search. We had only come with a couple clues, so were delighted to be successful. 
Finding this guy made our trip to Lamu special not only because we had a mission after months of relatively aimless traveling but also because he took us in to show us a side of Lamu that we would not have seen as standard tourists. Such as a 4-hour ride by donkey to a town on the other side of the island. In the pouring rain. And let me tell you that donkeys are not very comfortable. And they can tell when you don't know how to ride them. My donkey learned early on that I did not want to hit it hard with the switch, and took full advantage of me.
Finding this guy made our trip to Lamu special not only because we had a mission after months of relatively aimless traveling but also because he took us in to show us a side of Lamu that we would not have seen as standard tourists. Such as a 4-hour ride by donkey to a town on the other side of the island. In the pouring rain. And let me tell you that donkeys are not very comfortable. And they can tell when you don't know how to ride them. My donkey learned early on that I did not want to hit it hard with the switch, and took full advantage of me. After departing Lamu by boat in another bout of pouring rain, we had another couple long bus rides and then a day and a half to wrap up things in Nairobi. Including a cool trip to a local baby elephant and rhino sanctuary, very well run by an organization taking in orphaned animals and returning them to the wild.We touched down in Seattle, had one day to repack our bags, and then flew back the same direction to Vermont to join our friends Marion and Ethan at their wedding. After a beautiful, fun and personal wedding, we spent a few nights camping around Vermont with them and cooking hobo meals in the fire. And now, we're briefly back in the Seattle area, trying to see family and friends and whip ourselves back into shape for cardio and climbing. 
